There is an abundance of products available on how to relieve stress and it shouldn’t surprise you. Just about everyone knows what stress is. Generally people are so busy they have little time for anything.

We are fatalities in a bizarre world. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Our quest for more stuff; money, success and material things is what has caused our stressful lives and why we are these ticking time bombs.

The symptoms of stress can be fatal leading to disease, chronic illness, hypertension and even heart attack. Most of us don’t even realize the kind of stress we put ourselves under. Your body has an amazing ability to help you deal with a sudden stressful situation when you may need to protect yourself. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.

So how does one relieve stress and avoid the effects of it on the body? Before we get to the 5 points on effective stress relief there are two things you should think about doing for yourself on a daily basis to avoid stress.

The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life is always going to throw you a curve ball you don’t expect but this should not be happening to you all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Your health and well-being could be at stake.

The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Caffeine and Nicotine put a lot of stress on your body. Do your best to cut back on these.

So let’s now work through the 5 steps to a stree free mind and body.

1. Get some exercise
It doesn’t really matter what you consider exercise. You could go out for a jog or a brisk walk in the park or go to the gym and exercise there. Relaxing while you exercise is what is important as well as exercising on a regular basis. There really no point to an exercise if you are not enjoying it.

2. Relaxation and meditation
I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. You don’t have to know the art of meditation in order to just get a little uninterrupted time for yourself on a consistent basis.

3. Do something for yourself
Ladies this does not mean go on a shopping spree. It does mean doing something for yourself. Take a time out to be on your own making sure you will not be interrupted or you could go out to a spa and get a massage.

4. Video and board games
Games can be a perfect way to relieve stress. Put some thought into who you invite to play with to make sure you avoid the game becoming to intense and stressful. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress

5. Get a good night’s sleep
Get proper rest. Disruptions to your sleeping patterns can cause tremendous stress on your body. To rest properly your mind needs to be at rest. The simplest way to control your constant thinking is to not react to negative thoughts as this can cause you to stress.

The best thing to do is to get started on just one of these ideas and then move on to the next when you feel you are ready. Relaxing is what is important not what you do. Start today.